1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to equipment for inducing air into an engine, such as an internal combustion engine used to power a vehicle. More specifically, the present invention concerns a carburetor hat for a forced air induction system.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Internal combustion engines are known in the art, such as engines used to power vehicles of various types. It is also known in the art to utilize a carburetor to mix fuel and induction fluid and deliver this mixture to the combustion chamber(s) of the engine. Prior art carburetors include one or more chambers, or “barrels,” that utilize pressure conditions therein to draw predetermined amounts of fuel and induction fluid—i.e., amounts corresponding to the variable throttle settings within the carburetor—into the barrel for mixture and delivery to the corresponding combustion chamber. Each carburetor barrel includes a venturi and a “flow bowl.” Pressure conditions within the combustion chamber cooperate with pressure conditions at the intake to the carburetor to introduce induction fluid into the flow bowl. The venturi is typically positioned between the bowl and the combustion chamber and cooperates with the pressure conditions to induce a metered amount of fuel into the venturi where it mixes with the induction fluid from the flow bowl as it is delivered to the combustion chamber. Operation of the carburetor is typically optimized when the pressure at the flow bowl and the pressure within the corresponding venturi are generally balanced. As these pressure conditions become unbalanced, the carburetor will not draw the proper mixture of fuel and induction fluid and thus will not deliver the proper mixture to the combustion chamber(s). Without the proper mixture, the engine will undesirably run too “lean” or too “rich.”
It is known in the art to utilize a carburetor hat to deliver induction fluid to the intake of a carburetor. These prior art carburetor hats typically include an air filter housed therein to clean the induction fluid prior to introducing the fluid into the carburetor. These prior art carburetor hats typically draw induction fluid into the hat in a generally horizontal flow and then deliver the fluid to the carburetor in a generally vertical flow. The carburetor is typically positioned beneath the hat and therefore the vertical flow is an “inline” flow into the carburetor's barrel(s). These prior art carburetor hats are problematic and subject to several undesirable limitations. For example, in the prior art carburetor hats, the induction fluid is typically “thrust” against the back wall of the hat prior to inline delivery into the carburetor's barrel(s). Additionally, the induction fluid is prone to “stack up” within the prior art carburetor hats. This back wall thrust and stack up phenomena are undesirable because they each disrupt a desirable consistent and uniform inline flow of induction fluid into the barrel(s). Such disruptions are associated with corresponding and undesirable disruptions in the fuel cycle which result in unoptimized engine output. These phenomena are particularly problematic with multi-barreled carburetors—that is, the front barrels are consistently interrupted. Additionally, these phenomena are particularly limiting in applications where optimized engine output is essential, such as in racing applications.
It is also known in the art to utilize a compressor to compress induction fluid for an internal combustion engine. Relative to normally aspirated induction fluid—i.e., induction fluid drawn into the engine from the atmosphere—the use of a compressor enables a more densified charge of induction fluid to be supplied to the engine, but also accelerates the flow of the induction fluid thereby forcing the fluid to the engine. Therefore, the use of a compressor in combination with a carburetor further exacerbates the problems and limitations of the prior art carburetor hats discussed above. Accordingly, a carburetor hat that does not suffer from these problems and limitations is desired, particularly one that can be used in combination with a compressor.